“We grow beautiful crystals,” Meier said. “Crystals with weird metals, crystals with weird magnets and unusual materials.”
Meier compared the process of growing crystals to making rock candy, a familiar childhood experiment. But instead of using water, his team works with molten metals.
“It’s similar, except I don’t use water to grow crystals,” Meier said. “I use molten aluminum, or zinc, or in a particularly interesting example, a mixture of iron and arsenic.”
The researchers place the elements in a heat-resistant container and heat them until they melt. As the materials cool and crystallize, they can produce new structures with unexpected properties.
“When we get rid of the liquid we use as water, and when everything goes right, we get sparkling crystals. Sometimes, something brand new, and we have to figure out what it is,” said Meier.
Once the crystals are created and identified, researchers test their properties, including magnetism, melting point, anisotropy and color. They use an electron microscope to study the crystals’ atomic structure.
“In viewing our crystal, we start to see that pattern of atoms. We have squares, we have rectangles, we have triangles all with the same repeating atomic pattern,” Meier said. “This is what makes it a crystal.”
The materials can have practical applications, from trapping radioactive gases to use in construction and computer chips. But Meier also wants people to appreciate the beauty of the scientific process.
“I am really trying to work with more artists. The collaboration between science and art is really interesting,” Meier said. “We often get lost in our work as scientists. We will see something we make and go ‘oh, that’s pretty,’ and then move on to the next task. Sometimes we just need to stop and appreciate how truly amazing the work we do looks.”
Through their collaboration, Meier and Holstein are giving audiences a new way to see scientific research, one that celebrates both discovery and creativity.
